New Resources

We've got a few new products to announce: two new psychology databases and campus-wide access to newspaper.

Up first, we have the additions of PsycCRITIQUES and PsycEXTRA to our stable of behavior and social science databases. Both are companion databases to our larger PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO databases.

As per the vendor's website: "PsycCRITIQUES®, produced by the American Psychological Association (APA), is a database of full-text book reviews featuring current scholarly and professional books in psychology. It also publishes reviews from a psychological perspective of popular films and trade books. PsycCRITIQUES includes approximately 40,000 reviews dating back to 1956 and is indexed with controlled vocabulary from APA's Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms®."

Film and popular culture classes might also find PsycCRITIQUES useful.

Next up, PsycEXTRA:

"PsycEXTRA®, produced by the American Psychological Association (APA), is a bibliographic and full-text companion to the scholarly PsycINFO® database. The document types included in PsycEXTRA consist of technical, annual and government reports, conference papers, newsletters, magazines, newspapers, consumer brochures and more.

This database complements PsycINFO and the other APA databases with extensive coverage of gray literature relating to psychology and the behavioral sciences; it contains around 200,000 records that are not indexed in any other APA database. Furthermore, content from the Archives of the History of American Psychology (AHAP) collection is expected to increase the number of records substantially. PsycEXTRA is indexed with controlled vocabulary from APA's Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms®."

The addition of gray literature and conference proceedings will be highly useful for all levels of psychology research.

Finally, we are adding an online campus-wide subscription to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

From their website: "The Chronicle of Higher Education is the No. 1 source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators.

Based in Washington, D.C., The Chronicle has more than 70 writers, editors, and international correspondents.

Online, The Chronicle is published every weekday and is the top destination for news, advice, and jobs for people in academe. The Chronicle's Web site features the complete contents of the latest issue; daily news and advice columns; thousands of current job listings; an archive of previously published content; vibrant discussion forums; and career-building tools such as online CV management, salary databases, and more."

We will continue our print subscription to The Chronicle.

Writer's Studio Hours for Spring 2011

From Dr. Jasna Shannon, director of the Writer's Studio:

The Writer's Studio will open Monday, January 24, 2011.

Spring 2011 Hours:

Monday-Thursdays 2:00-10:00 p.m.
Closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Writer's Studio is located upstairs in the LITC.

Meet the Staff

Megan Anne Johnson
Age: 25
Height: 5ft 3inches
Favorite Books: Harry Potter Series and Pride & Prejudice

"Librarians are needed now more than ever before because there is so much information online. It can be very frustrating when your search results turn up a lot of irrelevant items. You know there is something out there published on your topic, but you can't find it. That's where I come in!"

Meet the newest member of the LITC, Megan Johnson. She's a Reference Librarian and she'll be on hand to help patrons use library resources. Megan assists users in changing their search terms, utilizing databases, and finding the most relevant items for their topics. Imagine the library as a vast ocean. Megan would be a captain in our fleet, and these are familiar waters. She genuinely enjoys academic research, and helping people, and is looking forward to making a positive impact here at Coker College. "I truly do want to help in re-defining ready," Megan said. "I am excited about the opportunity to inspire and engage students in becoming better researchers by utilizing library resources."

Expanded Reference Hours!

Because you asked for it (and we listened), we are expanding our reference desk hours on a trial basis for the Spring 2011 semester.

We will now have the reference desk staffed from 2 PM until 9 PM Monday-Thursday.

We are available by "walk-in" appointment on Fridays. You can also stop by the circulation desk outside of these hours if you need reference assistance.

Our chat reference, available on the library homepage and Research and Computer Help pages, are always available - make sure you leave an e-mail address if we don't get back to you right away.

Community Book Discussion - Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith

Please join us for our community book discussion, led by Dr. Rhonda Knight, on Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies on 31 January in LITC 228 at 11 a.m.

From Library Journal: "This haunting epistolary novel captures the heartbreaking beauty of Appalachia through the voice of an engaging narrator: feisty Ivy Rowe, a born storyteller growing up on a pre-World War I farm. Poverty and early motherhood destroy her dream of writing professionally, but write she does, scores of letters from girlhood until death. In her descriptions of "Whitebear Whittington," tempestuous Depression-era coal camps, proud "holler" communities, and most of all the colorful Rowe clan of Sugar Fork, Virginia, Ivy brings her beloved home country and its lore to dramatic life. Her sassy, clearheaded reports blend unforgettably with her almost mystical passions as she pieces together the vivid quilt of her life."

Light refreshments will be served.

Food For Fines

It's that time again! Bring your non-perishable food item and exchange it for $2.50 (per item) towards any outstanding library fines you have incurred over the semester.

Picture courtesy of Brian Green's Blog: http://www.brianjgreen.net

Twelve Needs of Christmas